Perennial Theme: Selfless Service Leads to Happiness

"Eileen," the one footed Bird of The Rockaways

My partner and I have seen this one-footed bird around Arverne in the Rockaways and have nick-named it "Eileen." I have no idea what Eileen is thinking as s/he goes about doing its bird things, but for me when I see her/him, compassion is evoked within. Eileen serves me by reminding that no matter what we've been dealt in life, each and everyone one of us can make a difference.

For a number of years now, I've returned every summer to the Hanuman theme in my yoga classes. I love what Hanuman stands for, and he inspires me to keep doing my work.

Hanuman, also known as the Monkey God, appears in the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. In the story, he is deeply devoted to his master, Lord Rama, whose wife Sita is captured and taken to an island in the middle of the ocean. Because his only desire is to keep serving Rama, he summons up all his strength and power from within himself and does a giant split leap over the ocean, lands on the far away island, and rescues Sita and returns her to Rama. Can you imagine executing such a feat?! Actually, many of us already do similar types of things all the time.

The story of Hanuman of course is a myth, and like all myths it is meant to remind us of the things we know but have forgotten. Essentially, when the cause is great enough and it serves humanity in some deep and profound way, we somehow are able to muster up the strength, capacity, and will-power to complete the mission. I believe that each of us here on earth have some important mission to accomplish, cause to serve.

For me, it's running a nonprofit. For many, it's being a good parent. For teachers, it's giving the next generation skills to succeed and being good role models. For those in service industries, it's providing others with basic things we need to make our day a bit easier, and hopefully doing it with a smile on their face.

I believe that selfless service, like Hanuman constantly demonstrated, can lead to increased levels of experiencing happiness.

Sonja Lyubomirsky researched ways to increase happiness, and writes: ... what precisely can we do to hasten or bolster ... increases in happiness? The answer lies in the pie chart theory of happiness. Recall that 50 percent of individual differences in happiness are governed by genes, 10 percent by life circumstances, and the remaining 40 percent by what we do and how we think?  That is, our intentional activities and strategies. The secret of course lies in that 40 percent. If we observe genuinely happy people, we shall find that they do not just sit around being contented. They make things happen. They pursue new understandings, seek new achievements, and control their thoughts and feelings. In sum, our intentional, effortful activities have a powerful effect on how happy we are, over and above the effects of our set points and the circumstances in which we find themselves. If an unhappy person wants to experience interest, enthusiasm, contentment, peace, and joy, he or she can make it happen by learning the habits of a happy person.

In yoga, there are some things we can’t control – like how loose our joints are, or how long some of our tendons and ligaments are, or whether our muscles tend to be fast-twitch or slow-twitch, or whether we started yoga too late in life to be able to touch our toes. Let's face it, some people were born to do the forward splits, and others will never be able to do it in this lifetime. But what we can all control is giving the practice our most sincere effort and staying within our own truth. If you do these things, you should be happier by the time you leave your yoga mat.

And by staying within our own truths, we discover the myriad of ways that we can be of service. Eileen, my bird-friend can't change the fact that s/he has only one good foot, but s/he makes me smile every time I see her/him. That's what I call being true to one's self, sincere, and serving others!

From Wikipedia, "Neem Karoli Baba (1900 c. - September 11, 1973), also known to followers as Maharaj-ji, was a Hindu guru, mystic and devotee of the Hindu deity Hanuman." He influenced millions of people around the world, including Krishna Das, the American Kirtan Singing Artist. A long while back, I read Krishna Das describe his encounters with Neem Karoli Baba and I recall him saying something like that when he was in his presence it was like experiencing Pure Love. Neem Karoli Baba was so simple and humble, and had an infinite heart that could hold within it the suffering of many other beings, including Krishna Das' own, which apparently was quite immense at the time. In his very simple way, Neem Karoli Baba, like Hanuman who he was devoted to, found the strength to keep on reducing some of the suffering he witnessed around him. By all accounts, he appeared to be quite happy too.

Neem Karoli Baba wrote:

I am like the Wind, No one can hold me,
I belong to everyone, No one can own me.

Hanuman was the son of the wind, which made it possible for him to fly across the ocean to the island where Sita was. As yogis, when we practice Hanumanasana -- forward splits -- we can imagine ourselves being stretched out in 6 directions like a bird, and taking flight with the wind. Professor Joshua Greene says, "practicing the pose, we gain victory over our own selves, our ego and our tendencies towards evil."  Our heart is spread wide open, and when it is we will always find our way back to remembering our highest missions on earth. When the heart is wide open we can sail farther and higher. When our heart is open, like the wind, like Hanuman, we can belong to everyone, while not being owned or held by any one. That is selfless service. That is the key to happiness.

May you be happy,
Like "Eileen," may you change what you can, and not worry about what you can't,
May you serve selflessly, 
May you gain little victories over your little self,
May you know and serve your Higher Self,
May you remember to breath and feel the wind moving both inside and outside,
May you accomplish your mission on earth, for the benefit of all beings.

Aloha with Metta,
Paul Keoni Chun 

Perennial Theme: Contentment

Neighborhood Community Garden, W 48 St.

Going through my neighborhood community garden, I happened on this bee pollinating this flower. To me, it was the picture of contentment, as it was just going about doing what bees do.

One of the most important parts of practicing yoga is cultivating contentment, both on and off the mat. In some ways, becoming increasingly more content in life is more important than increasing one's ability to stand on one's head. The latter might be a means toward the former, but always remember the former is more important, and in some ways the more difficult to practice.

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali state: santosha anuttamah sukha labhah (Chapter 2, Verse 42). Swami J translates: From an attitude of contentment (santosha), unexcelled happiness, mental comfort, joy, and satisfaction is obtained.

And, no less a great authority on happiness than the Buddha stated: “Contentment is the greatest wealth.” (Dhammapada 204) Every so often I think it's important to remind ourselves of this -- something we all know but in midst of our habituated desires for more material wealth, often forget.

As I thought about people in the world who seem to be content, one major figure came to mind -- Warren Buffett. He is one of the richest people -- in terms of financial wealth -- on the planet. Yet, he said: “I learned that I can still be happy with half as much.” Maybe that's one reason he got to be so wealthy. As I shared in last month's blog, he said he doesn't need a lot of fancy things to be happy, and he genuinely seems to be happy and content. The lesson I derived from him is that one need not take extraordinary risks and constantly try to satisfy one's ego for more in order to be happy, and even to derive more wealth. He is truly an example of how needing less can lead to more.

Conversely, Donald Trump strikes me as someone who is not content with half as much. Just saying. And if you compare the material wealth of both (as far as we know), Warren Buffett seems to be far ahead.

Another person important in my own life who is content with less is my partner, Ed. He's always telling me, "I don't need the fanciest this or that." He finds contentment in simple things, like tending to his garden or spending weekends watching a good movie or a nature show at home. He definitely keeps me in check.

Creating contentment is a gradual process, for sure. The Buddhist meditation teacher, Tempel Smith, suggested that one "incline the mind towards contentment over dissatisfaction.” I like that. It suggests that in those moments when it is easy to be dissatisfied with the way things are that one just try - gently - to move one's mind in the direction of contentment. 

I will admit - this past month I really struggled with cultivating contentment in my own life. Part of my challenge was that I had an unbelievably and unusually high work load and a number of personal obligations. I find it difficult to keep my mind in a state of equanimous contentment when I have too much going on. But now, as I see a little more light at the end of my "work" tunnel, my mind has eased up a bit, and I am beginning again to feel more content. I've come to feel that I can be content with less work -- and thus income -- if it means having more free time to do quiet, simple things. 

I know our 24/7 capitalistic culture reveres being busy, busy. I am learning, day by day, that's not necessarily a good thing.

May you have the space to start your days from an attitude of contentment.
May you be content with half as much.
May your mind gently be inclined toward contentment and away from dissatisfaction.
May you be happy and content, for the benefit of all beings everywhere.

With Aloha and Metta,
Paul Keoni
 

Is Warren Buffett A Yogi?

Warren Buffett interviewed by Judy Woodruff, PBS Newshour, 6/27/17

Yoga Friends,

I watched an inspiring interview that businessman and philanthropist, Warren Buffett, gave to Judy Woodruff on the PBS Newshour recently. Judy reported that Warren Buffett's net worth from all his stock certificates at his company, Berkshire Hathaway, is $77 Billion. Warren said that 99% of it is going back to society through philanthropy. He said he could live on $100,000 per year and still be happy, and though he could buy 100 homes and yachts if he wanted to, he wouldn't be happier. He's happy to live in the same house he's lived in since 1958 because it's filled with memories--obviously ones that are priceless to him. He said the secret to being happy is to find what you love to do, and he tells young students, "look for the job you'd take if you didn't need a job. ... Surround yourself with people around you who make you feel good every day, and make you a better person than you would ever be."

To me, this certainly sounds like someone who is practicing yoga "off-the-mat!"

Warren Buffett has learned to be content --samtosha -- with having only what he needs. He doesn't seem to have a great number of material wants, rather he seems to practice aparigraha--non-greed, non-grasping, non-possessiveness. Unlke most people, he doesn't seem to have an ego that is constantly saying "more, more, more." He thinks in terms of how his greatest gifts can meet society's greatest needs. And perhaps one of his most endearing traits is that he has a jovial quality that clearly demonstrates that he is a happy person.

Many years ago when I was a working actor, an acting teacher shared with me his philosophy about acting that can be summarized as, "Joy is the Center of the Creative process." I have always remembered that. As an artist myself, I know the creative process can feel painful at times--most often due to the fact that you're constantly delving into the unknown. But whenever I am trying to create something -- yoga sequences, lesson plans, an acting role, growing Keoni Movement Arts -- I am always guided by the same basic questions: What brings me joy? Am I enjoying what I am doing? Do I think this will bring joy to others?

The actor Robert Prosky said:

It has been said that an Actor must have the hide of a rhinoceros, the courage and audacity of a lion, and most importantly, the fragile vulnerability of an egg.

Certainly, as yoga practitioners, we must try to cultivate the hide of a rhinoceros. One way of thinking about this is that we can either try over and over to force the outside world to change to our liking, or as the 8th Century Indian Buddhist Monk and Scholar Shantideva suggested, we can protect our own minds by wrapping a thick protective "hide" around it. That's what meditation practice is intended to help us build. A more current way of thinking about this is we're trying to "Donald Trump-proof" our minds!

Also, as yoga practitioners we're trying to access the deepest awakenings of the heart/mind, and it takes tremendous courage and audacity to do just that. Certainly, yoga and meditation are not for the faint-hearted in this respect!

Robert Prosky also said:

It also has been said, and I'm not sure by whom, that the moment of not knowing is the moment that has the greatest potential for creativity. The professional and private lives of most Actors are filled to the brim with moments of not knowing.

And the Buddhist Meditation Teacher, Pema Chodron, said:

The best spiritual instruction is when you wake in the morning and say, "I wonder what's going to happen today," ... and carry that kind of curiosity through your life.

If yoga and meditation can do anything for us, it can help us to feel more comfortable with not knowing, and open us up to the curious possibilities of what might be if we just allow ourselves to be vulnerable and to flow with life as it is unfolding. Certainly seeing what is happening in front of us in any given moment -- instead of being stuck in what we think should be happening -- is a way of being that is fresh, awakening, and freeing. If we can be open to possibilities that God has in store for us by surrendering more, we will freer from the blockages that keeps God's creative force from reaching the surface of our awareness. I know we wish we could control all outcomes, but in letting go of controlling too much, we can know our highest possibilities. 

This past month, I put together a recital for my nonprofit organization, Keoni Movement Arts. I had to figure out yoga, dance, and gymnastics skills that my students -- many of whom are special needs -- could perform as choreographed movement pieces.

And in my desire to advance Yo-Dan-Nastics as a movement arts vocabulary, I asked of my teachers that we also put together a movement piece to share with our students. We only had two 2-hour rehearsals in which to assemble it. Because I was so busy taking care of other aspects of the recital, I didn't get around to formulating ideas for the teachers' piece until the night before our first rehearsal. I remember thinking -- with both fear and excitement -- "what is going to happen tomorrow?" I truly did not know! 

Then just after I had settled myself into bed and before I fell asleep, suddenly and magically ideas started popping into my head. And the next day, as I was leading my teachers and I through a warmup, suddenly movement ideas started popping into my head, leading one teacher to remark "this could be our dance!" And as we went through the rehearsal, the other teachers started contributing their ideas, and after just two short -- and exhilarating -- hours, we had basically assembled a dance together. It was such a joyous experience, and one that I undoubtedly would not had experienced had I not been open to "not knowing."

I am thrilled that, like Warren Buffett, I have found life-work that is meaningful and joyous for me and others. I think back 20 years ago, when for two years I was making $10 an hour teaching a once-per-week adult gymnastics class at the YMCA. Certainly, I wasn't making a lot of money teaching back then, but I do remember that the process of learning how to teach movement brought me great joy. I had fun experimenting with a lot of different ways to approach teaching gymnastics -- an activity that is more suited for learning as a child -- to adults. I used to spend many hours planning my lessons and breaking things down into smaller and smaller achievable bits of movement. My mind used to churn with ideas that I now know didn't come from me, rather from God.

I am most grateful for the talented professionals I am now surrounded by who are giving their time, treasure, and talents to help me to nurture Keoni Movement Arts and bring it to the next level. They make me feel good every day, and help to make me a better person than I would be otherwise.

Whatever is your deepest callings, I hope that your yoga and meditation practices can help you to hear those messages clearly. The world will benefit greatly from experiencing your most creative and joy-filled ideas.

May you revel in "not knowing," ...
May you develop a thick hide to encase your mind in, ...
May you know your greatest potential for creativity, ...
May Joy be the Center of your Creative Process," ...
May you be a yogi like Warren Buffett, ...
... for the benefit of all Beings everywhere.

Metta with Aloha,
Paul Keoni

The Outcome Is None Of Your Business

BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK, MAY 28, 2017

Yoga Friends,

A perennial yoga philosophy that has been so helpful to me personally over the years comes from the  Bhagavad Gita. One of the main themes of it's teachings is summarized in Stephen Cope's book, Yoga and the Quest for the True Self, by one of his friends, Tom:

You dedicate your passion, your energy, your gifts to something bigger than yourself, and you just live it fully-- and the outcome is none of your business."

What if we could just give ourselves the gift of taking action in the world, and let go of worrying about how things are going to turn out? Imagine how freeing that would be. Imagine how much of our imagination, energy, and creativity could be released and expressed in the process. 

We live in a world where we have many choices and decisions to make, and it's easy to get caught in the all-too-human experience of thinking "I'm afraid to take action because I'm afraid of how things are going to turn out if I do the wrong thing and fail."

In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna -- essentially the human soul -- and Krishna -- the Eternal Source -- are in conversation about Arjuna's dilemma over his seemingly impossible choice, which Cope writes: "[should Arjuna act] on his sacred duty as a warrior and [face] the karmic consequences of fratricide [by killing members of his extended family], or [retreat] from his duty into inaction and [face] the sin of 'dereliction of dharma' (duty)?"

For us, we're often faced with what are difficult -- and sometimes impossible -- choices, and we often seem to want to retreat into inaction. Much of the reason for our angst is that we fear the results of our actions and what the consequences might be. The solution, according to the Bhagavad Gita is this:

You have control over your actions alone, never over of it's fruits. Live not for the fruits of action, nor attach yourself to inaction. Established in yoga, perform actions having abandoned attachment, and remain balanced whether you succeed or fail. For balance of mind is called yoga.

Essentially, if we can let go of worrying about the outcomes of our actions, then we can live life with so much more freedom from guilt and blame. Cope explains:

Action that is done "desiring the welfare of the world," in alignment with duty and without "attachments to the fruits," is action that leaves no residue of karma, no bondage, no stain of any kind.

The key is that if we can align ourselves with our sacred duty -- what we were born on this earth to do -- and not be attached to the results, then we will not only leave this world with less karma to work on in a future life, but also suffer less by being freed from the mental bondage of needing things to turn out in a particular way.

Given the current political situation in which we face the possibilities of our country going backward in so many areas -- civil rights, human rights, women's rights, climate protection, and on and on -- the lesson for us who are in a position to put our attention toward advancing and promoting human understanding in these areas is that we can only do the best we can do and take the best actions we can. Beyond that, to repeat, "the outcome is none of your business." If we can go in with this mindset, then we can free ourselves of some -- if not all -- suffering.

In my own life's work through Keoni Movement Arts, I am faced with so many decisions that sometimes my head spins. The thing that keeps saving me over and over again is remembering that the outcome of all of this is none of my business. I started this nonprofit with an idea in mind for how to help the world through my own talents and desire, and the result so far is that we continue to grow year after year. Where this will all lead to, I have no idea. I do know that if I just keep following my heart, and remain practical and diligent, the results will continue to speak for themselves. I also know that the less personally I take the results, the less I will suffer.

According to Cope, Krishna (God) teaches in the Bhagavad Gita:

Act in the world, in alignment with your true vocation, your true self, and turn over the fruits--and you can rest assured that, then, you are not the Doer of the action. 

I've heard accounts about people being "in the flow" and feeling like they are not in charge, so much as that they are channeling some source greater than themselves. We've all experienced that feeling, I have no doubt, and it happens when we are doing what we were meant to do on this earth in this lifetime. It is incumbent on us, as yoga practitioners, to listen strongly to those feelings when they occur.

In fact, as we advance in our yoga practice, yoga becomes less and less about being able to do a headstand or touch one's toes, rather, as Cope writes:

As yoga matures within us, the intellectual idea that we are born divine becomes transformed into a way of life. We move ineluctably toward trust in the basic OKness of things and in the the remarkable intelligence of life itself. We let our dharma—the plan life has for us—find us. And when we surrender to life’s plan for us, we discover that we are not the doer. God is the doer.

A good reminder for all of us is something one of Cope's friends, Mark, said to him shortly before he died of AIDS at a young age:

Don't wake up at the end of your life and find that you've had yourself at the center of it all along. ... You have to find some one, some thing, some purpose greater than yourself to which you're devoted, and cultivate that devotion. Really give yourself over to it, whether it's teaching, music, family, the law, children, meditation, yoga, gardening. Whatever.

Especially with the way things are going in the world these days, it is most incumbent on us as yoga practitioners to help the world by allowing our Dharma—our life Duty—to come to us, and live it fully.  If we can do this individually, then I have no doubt that our collective efforts will save the world from the madness that is engulfing it at the moment.

May you know your Dharma, ... 
May you act on your Sacred Duty, ...
May you actions be aligned with serving the welfare of All, ...
May your mind remain balanced in success and failure, ...
May God act through you, ...
May you remember the outcome is none of your business, ...
for the benefit of all Beings everywhere.

Aloha with Metta,
Paul Keoni

Taking Things Personally

View from Madison Square Park on 10/29/16. NYC has some amazing buildings!

Yoga Friends,

 I don't know about you, but I am very sensitive. When criticized, I tend to take things personally. So, it was particularly helpful recently for me to remember these words from Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction practice. In an interview with Krista Tippett, he said:

If you mistake what you think of as the reality for the reality, then you're going to suffer because you're attaching the story of me, myself, and my successes and failures to something that's actually quite impersonal.

If yoga and meditation has helped me in any tangible way, it has been as vehicles which allows me to step back and see what's happening rather than identifying with what's happening. A goal of yoga and meditation is to try to become the witness to everything that's going on, both inside and outside of ourselves. And it can make such a difference in the quality of our Joys and the diminishing of our suffering.

The Buddha said, "life is suffering." The Buddha also said that there is a Pathway out of suffering. 

May you remember you not take it personally.
May your suffering diminish, ... for the benefit of all beings.

aloha, with metta,
Paul

True Power

Fall foliage across from the Freedom Tower, 10/20/16.

October 24, 2016

Yoga Friends,

Back around 2008, I got to hear the most venerable Vietnamese Zen Buddhist Master Teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, speak in person. I recall him having a quiet, soft voice, but yet oh, how powerful his presence was. That night after his talk, my friend Jo-Anne, purchased an autographed copy of his book The Art of Power for me. I devoured it at the time.

Recently, this passage from the book has been resonating with me:

... Our society is founded on a very limited definition of power, namely wealth, professional success, fame, physical strength, military might, and political control. My dear friends, I suggest that there is another kind of power, a greater power: the power to be happy in the present moment, free from addiction, fear, despair, discrimination, anger, and ignorance. This power is the birthright of every human being, whether celebrated or unknown, rich or poor, strong or weak. 

Many come to yoga practice primarily to develop physical power through increasing strength and flexibility. Recently, I was teaching a health club yoga class and a student came to me prior to the start asking if this was going to be a Power Yoga class. Upon assuring her that it was, she said "good, because I need to work on my power." Inwardly I knew that was a code for "I need you to make it challenging and super tough because I need to build a lot of strength." So she situated herself in the front of the class, did a lot of vinyasas with hand-stand option and moved very quickly, and left before doing savasana. I knew she was totally missing the point of what yoga is supposed to be all about. And, I knew, as a long time teacher now, to just teach to people where they are currently at in their understanding.

The promise of yoga is truly something much, much bigger than just getting a good, hard workout. The practice has the potential to help us develop an inner joy so strong that it can withstand the torrent of stresses we encounter, especially here in New York City.

There are people who have attained much wealth and high positions who are ostensibly powerful but yet are miserable, and there are poor people who living in constant and abiding joy. 

May you remember your true inner powers, ... for the benefit of all beings

aloha, with metta,
Paul

Chopping Wood, Carrying Water

Moon over Times Square, 10/14/16

Yoga Friends,
 
Another Monday is upon us. It's time for most people -- perhaps save for theatre folk -- to head back to work. Back to our routines. ... Sigh. ... Or maybe not?
 
Undoubtedly you've heard the oft-quoted Zen saying:
 
Before Enlightenment, I chop wood and carry water.
After Enlightenment, I chop wood and carry water.
 
I believe this pithy phrase wisely suggests that engaging in the simplest acts -- chopping wood and carrying water -- can be a pathway towards enlightenment.
 
I also believe it is suggesting that although Enlightenment may be the goal, it's not where we should be putting our attention. Rather, we should put it on doing the simplest things that are laying right in front of us. Doing so, lightens us up.
 
Also, having routines is an anchor for us. Our routines help us to order our worlds in a way that helps us to negotiate through it with ease and grace. 
 
The Buddha is said to have attained Enlightenment at age 35. He lived into his 80's. Undoubtedly the Buddha himself continued to practice meditation - continued chopping wood and carrying water -- even after he became Awakened. 
 
Maybe in this lifetime, through your own regular yoga and meditation practices, you'll attain Enlightenment. Still, to maintain it, you'll still have to keep practicing both. 
 
Like the moon, keep showing up daily.
 
May you chop wood and carry water, ... for the benefit of all beings.
 
May you make it through another Monday with Grace.
 
aloha, with metta,
Paul

Showing Up

SUNSET AT ROCKAWAY BEACH, 10/19/16

Yoga Friends, 

Pattabhi Jois was one of the 20th Century's most important and prominent yoga masters. He uttered many brief words of wisdom during his lifetime of teaching. Here is one of the more prominent of his philosophies: 

Yoga is 99% practice and 1% theory.

Indeed, in order to become really good at anything the most important thing is to simply show up. It's easy to get heady and try to explain how things are supposed to work, but there is so much learning to be had simply by showing up, exploring, and using direct experience to be the best teacher.

One of my and my partner Ed's favorite cable tv shows is The Incredible Dr. Pol. He is a veterinarian in Michigan and his clinic treats animals large and small, exotic and common. In a recent episode, he was helping a newly minted veterinarian fresh out of school with a surgical procedure she was struggling with. Paraphrasing Dr. Pol, he commented, "they don't really teach you how to do things in veterinary school. Really you have to just get into the practice and do it, and learn by doing."

Whether the goal is enlightenment or building a great organization, you've just got to show up and do the doing. In a world where so many people are constantly careening from one passion to another, the secret to being successful is just sticking with something for the long haul and do the daily doing. The author Elizabeth Gilbert spoke about creativity in an interview with On Being host Krista Tippett. In it, she said:

Everything that is interesting is 90% boring. 

Paradoxical, yes, but true. Great things are built by hour after hour just showing up and as my friend Laurine likes to say "pad-dum, pad-dum" - ing over and over again.

Most moments of my own meditation practice are quite boring, but after having practiced on most days for the past 15 years or so, the results have been quite interesting. Overall, my life feels more stable than it did in the years prior. And I have a palpable sense that I am able to be more compassionate towards myself now than I was able to be in my early adult years.

May you just show up to practice whatever it is you're trying to get good at.

May the things your eventually create benefit all beings.

aloha, with metta,

paul

Curiosity, Pt. 3

Rockaway Beach on 9/25/16, displaying a gorgeous sunset. The water reflected the sky and was a translucent blue so beautiful that I thought I was back home in Hawaii.

Yoga Friends,
 
Last week I shared that the Author Elizabeth Gilbert explores what it means to live a creative life in her book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear. In an interview with On Being host Krista Tippett, she shared these thoughts on how our relationship with curiosity can help us:

ou think of curiosity as our friend that teaches us how to become ourselves. And, it's a very gentle friend. And a very forgiving friend. And a very constant one. Passion is not so constant, not so gentle, not so forgiving, and sometimes not so available. And so the we live in a world that has come to fetishize passion above all, there's a great deal of pressure around that.

These words hit home for me personally this week as I was working on a grant application that had many parts to it and a lot of technical challenges as well. Also, it had a deadline. As I approached doing it, I found myself experiencing fear and apprehension. I had thoughts like, would I get it done in time? Would I be able to answer each question? Would my answers be good enough? But, during the process, I also found myself saying, I wonder what I am going to learn with each step I take? I wonder what I am going to discover if I just show up and be present with each part to this? And as I remained curious, and open to the process, and willing to just let the doing be my best teacher, step-by-step, I finished the application and submitted in on time. Choosing the path of curiosity over the path of fear really helped me get through this process.
 
Truly, I felt the gentleness that being curious could bring. I felt how forgiving it could be too. I thought, so what if what I produce isn't perfect? I'll just learn something useful in the process and know that the next time it will be even better. 

But most importantly in the process I felt I became more of myself. I became more and more clear about my own voice, and took pride in it's uniqueness.
 
Similarly, yoga and meditation are very gentle friends, and very forgiving friends too. Unlike so many things we do in our life that involve us setting goals, and that put pressure on us to produce outcomes by a certain time in the future and meet other people's expectations, yoga and meditation work in the opposite way. They don't really care whether we get fully enlightened in this lifetime or a future one. There is no deadline in yoga by which time we have to be able to do a headstand. Yoga and meditation really just want us to show up, do the doing, and be our own authentic selves. They clear the debris to help us find our own voice and to share that with the world. 
 
We all have a voice. We all have a capacity to be creative. We all can witness how passion ebbs and flows as we continue down our path, then just choose to be curious to help us to keep going. In the end, we all can be our own best friends, and that would truly be a gift for the world.
 
As you practice returning over and over again to being curious, may your creative outcomes truly benefit all beings everywhere.
 
aloha, with metta,
paul

Curiosity, Pt. 2

Rockaway Beach, 9/25/16, first weekend of autumn

Yoga Friends,
 
Author Elizabeth Gilbert's (of Eat, Pray, Love fame) latest book, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, explores what it means to live a creative life. In an interview with Krista Tippett, her philosophy was summarized in this way:
 
Creativity in life as in art is choosing the path of curiosity over the path of fear.
 
Truly, when we are in a creative state of mind, our minds experience openness and expansiveness, a sort of "anything is possible" attitude.
 
As yoga and meditation take hold deeper in our lives, we are also training in adopting an expansive view of the human condition and an "anything is possible" attitude. Both free us up to experience more of life, just as it is, as it is unfolding.
 
In my own life recently, I've been met with a lot of uncertainties, so many that in some moments I have been paralyzed by fear. What has really helped me get through it all has been returning over and over again to an abiding curiosity. 
 
And remembering that this is a universal experience felt by most if not all people have helped me to not take it so personally when it happens.
 
As you practice choosing the path of curiosity over the path of fear, may your creative outcomes truly benefit of all beings everywhere.
 
aloha, with metta,
paul

Curiosity

Master Teacher Pema Chödrön 

Yoga Friends,
 
The Buddhist Meditation Teacher, Pema Chödrön, was interviewed by Bill Moyers a while back. This advice has resonated with me ever since:

The best spiritual instruction is when you wake up in the morning ... say, "I wonder what's going to happen today," ... and carry that kind of curiosity through your life."
 
A goal of practicing yoga and meditation is to keep the mind open and spacious. Curiosity is one tool that we can use to help us work towards that.
 
As I've worked recently to scale up my nonprofit organization, Keoni Movement Arts, I've experienced so much uncertainty. Should I do "...?" Will my actions bear fruit? What has helped has been an abiding curiosity. I've asked myself over and over again, I wonder what will happen if I try "...?" This feeling of curiosity has freed me up a little each time from being frozen by my fear of the unknown outcomes.
 
None of us truly knows what will happen to us today, tomorrow, or this week. Curiosity can help us to take that next action.
 
May you remain curious, ... for the benefit of all beings everywhere.
 
aloha, with metta,
paul

By Love Alone is Hatred Healed

9/11 Memorial (photo by Paul Keoni Chun, 9/8/16)

Yoga Friends,

15 years ago today, the world changed. Hard to believe it's been so long. I have many faded memories and feelings by now. Still, I think it is important to look back, remember, and reflect.
 
Earlier this week, I got to visit the memorial. I was immediately struck by the names etched into it. They seemed to represent every culture, ethnicity, and religion on the planet. Truly, the reverberations of 9/11 were felt by virtually all peoples on this earth. One that day, we were One.
 
Once again, we have an opportunity to consider what we can learn from the events of 9/11/01 and put into practice in our own lives. I've often shared this teaching from the Buddha at this time:

Hatred never ceases with hatred,
but by love alone is hatred healed.

For me personally, when confronted with my own shortcomings and failings, I have tried to use them as opportunities to give myself doses of love and kindness. I can certainly "hate" my way toward further self-improvement, but I chose to try to "love" my way toward that outcome. I truly believe that every act of love and kindness towards our own selves ultimately has global consequences.
 
Perhaps you'll come across this fork in your road in the coming days, when you are confronted with a personal failing. May you choose the Path of love and kindness toward your own self, for the benefit of all beings on the planet.
 
May we never forget.
 
aloha, with metta,
paul

Selfless Service Leads To Greater Freedom

My Olympian move (photo by Adeet Deshmukh)

Yoga Friends,

One of my favorite yoga sequences that I teach annually leads to the posture Hanumanasana (forward splits). With the Olympics occurring this past month, and having seen many amazing feats executed -- particularly by the gymnasts -- this was an appropriate time to practice this pose. Plus the heat of the summer makes it easier to go deeper into it.
 
In the Hindu epic, the Ramayana, Lord Hanuman (a.k.a. the Monkey God), was so devoted to his master that when his master's wife was captured and taken to a far-off island, Hanuman somehow mustered up the ability to do a giant split-leap over the vast ocean to rescue her. Can you picture this in your mind and imagine doing it?!
 
Though a myth, the story of Hanuman and his amazing feats remind us all that when the cause is great enough, we are able somehow to muster up the strength, perseverance, and will-power to accomplish incredible feats.  We are able to place our ego at the feet of something bigger than our own little selves, and act with humility in serving humanity selflessly through the talents we were born with. In the story, Hanuman forgot that he had inner strengths, but it took being presented with an opportunity to serve something bigger for him to remember that he had these strengths.
 
What is in your heart at this moment that you would like to see manifested for the benefit of all beings? If you can start by identifying that, you will soon find that you do have the ability to take many small yet consistent steps towards realizing your Olympian-sized dream.
 
May you remember your inner strengths through selfless service.
May you complete your missions.
May you know greater freedom.
 
aloha, with metta,
paul

Returning Home

Hōkūleʻa or Arcturus (Image by astrogeeks.com)

Last month, I attended an amazing event at the Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of Natural History. Hōkūleʻa, the canoe from Hawaii that is being paddled around the world over three years to share Mālama Honua -- caring for Island Earth -- had docked in NYC. A navigator from the ship spoke to us as we gazed up at the night sky projected above, explaining how the ancient Hawaiians used wayfinding techniques to navigate the waters of Polynesia with only natural elements to guide them. I was mesmerized by the explanation of their feat, and by the end felt so proud to be part Hawaiian and a descendant of these seafarers. 

Hōkūleʻa means "Star of Gladness." It is the Hawaiian word for Arcturus, the bright star which passes over Hawai'i. It is Nature's guide that points Hawaiians to the way home.

Most touchingly, I recall, at the very end, the navigator said that home is already in our hearts and minds. We can trust that it is there, and we instinctively know how to return to it when are in touch with the deepest callings of our hearts and minds. In that moment, I remember longing to go back home to Hawai'i.

All these feelings of -- longings for -- returning home got me to consider: as yoga and meditation practitioners, what does returning home mean to us?

Consider this passage from Buddhist psychology:

O Nobly Born, O you of glorious origins, remember your radiant true nature, the essence of mind. Trust it. Return to it. It is home. 
—The Tibetan Book of the Dead (Jack Kornfield on “Discovering our Nobility: A Psychology of Original Goodness)

The idea is that no matter how difficult things get for us, no matter how much we are suffering -- yes, life involves suffering if you haven't realized this by now -- these dark clouds in our mind and heart are not who we truly are. The Buddha recognized this in stating the Four Noble Truths.

From Lion's Roar, "prominent Buddhist teacher and psychologist Jack Kornfield proposes a new psychology, one based not on a model of sickness but on Buddhism’s belief in the inherent nobility, beauty, and freedom of human nature." Often we so identify with our neuroses. I certainly can. AND we can also choose to identify with our inherent capacity for compassion and for seeing the good in ourselves and others.

Consider also the wisdom of the venerable Vietnamese Buddhist Mediation Master, Thich Nhat Hanh through these various quotes:

"Every time you feel lost, alienated, or cut off from life, or from the world, every time you feel despair, anger, or instability, practice going home. Mindful breathing is the vehicle that you use to go back to your true home."

"Mindfulness helps you go home to the present. And every time you go there and recognize a condition of happiness that you have, happiness comes."

"... when you are mindful, you are fully live, you are fully present. You can get in touch with the wonders of life, that can nourish you, and heal you. And  you are stronger, you are more solid, in order to handle the suffering inside of you and around you. Aaah, when you are mindful you can recognize, embrace, and handle the pain and sorrow in you, and around you, to bring relief. And if you will continue with concentration ... you will be able to transform the suffering inside, and help transform the suffering around you."

"... when you breathe in, your mind comes back to your body and then you become fully aware that you are alive, that you are a miracle, and that everything you touch could be a miracle. ... [the] wonders of life [are] available in the here and the now. ... you need to breath mindfully in and out, in order to be fully present, and to get in touch with all these things. And that is a miracle, because you understand the nature of the suffering, you know the role that suffering plays in life, and you are not trying to run away from suffering any more ... and you know how to make use of suffering in order to build peace and happiness. It's like growing a lotus flower. You cannot grow a lotus flower on marble, you have to grow them on the mud. Without mud, you cannot have lotus flower. Without suffering, you have no way ... to learn how to be understanding and compassionate."

In yoga, we practice deep mindful breathing in order to bring relief and more openness to the tight muscles, tendons, ligaments, and fascia of our bodies. In sitting or walking meditation, we practice breath awareness in order to bring expansiveness to the tight, narrow focus of our minds in the present moment. 

With all the anger, violence and conflict permeating the world these days, now more than ever we need spiritual warriors who can return home to the breath to help transform some of that suffering. We need more people who can remember the mind's true home of radiance. We need more people who can transform some of that mud all around us into something beautiful. We need more people to simply return home.

As with Hōkūleʻa, the star of gladness that lies within our very own hearts and minds inherently -- because that is who we truly are -- will always lead us back home. Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz came to realize at the very end of her long journey that home was always in her heart. She just had to leave Kansas -- indeed leave home -- temporarily in order to come to know that and find home again. 

Dorothy also came to realize, "there's no place like home."

May each of us remember our true home.
May each of us know the return there by coming in touch with the gladness in our hearts.
May each of us remember that there is no place like home.
May each of us remember these things for the benefit of all beings.

By Love Alone Is Hatred Healed and Bridges Of Interconnectedness

Brooklyn Bridge

Yoga Friends, this month we experienced collectively so much pain and sorrow as major events swirled around us. From the mass shooting at The Pulse Night Club in Orlando, to the Supreme Court ruling (or lack thereof) over immigration, to "Brexit," no matter what your personal views on each of these situations is, like the beautiful Brooklyn Bridge which connects Brooklyn and Manhattan, we all got to realize yet again just how interconnected we are by the little and big bridges we form with others in our lives. What can we as yoga and meditation practitioners do to make some sense of it all? 

During times like these, I go back to the teachings of the Buddha for guidance. Especially during times like these, it is important to remember his words from the Dhammapada:

Hatred never ceases with hatred,
but by love alone is hatred healed. 
This is an ancient truth.

Many do not realize that we here must die.
For those who remember
Quarrels end.

According to a google search, in Mahayana Buddhism, a Bodhisattva a person who is able to reach nirvana but delays doing so out of compassion in order to save suffering beings. Though that is quite a lofty goal to strive for, I believe that each of us possess the compassion to want to alleviate the suffering we witness around us. Often, though, we are at a loss for what to do. I think we can start by coming to our yoga mats and our meditation cushions with the intention not to harm our own selves, but rather to be as loving and kind to ourselves as we possibly can, especially when we fail.

I for one am not perfect, and I have come to see that it is especially important that I be loving, kind, and compassionate to myself when I make a mistake. I also believe that this act of self-kindness actually helps the entire world in some small way.

The lotus blossom is symbolic in yoga. Padmasana, or Lotus Position, is the posture one assumes when practicing meditation. In the posture, one sits rooted to the Earth while shifting one's attention to the Divine.

The lotus is also a symbolic in Buddhism. John Powers writes in his Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism:

A lotus is born in the muck and mud at the bottom of a swamp, but when it emerges on the surface of the water and opens its petals, a beautiful flower appears, unstained by the mud from which it arose. Similarly, the compassion and wisdom of buddhas arise from the muck of the ordinary world, which is characterized by fighting, hatred, distrust, anxiety, and other negative emotions. These emotions tend to cause people to become self-centered and lead to suffering and harmful emotions. But just as the world is the locus of destructive emotions, it is also the place in which we can become buddhas, perfected beings who have awakened from the sleep of ignorance and who perceive reality as it is, with absolute clarity and with profound compassion for suffering living beings. 

For me this statement reminds me to stay connected to the earth, and to all the beings that inhabit it. It reminds me to stay connected to my inner, negative emotions. All the horror and sadness -- all the muck of the world -- we witness around us and inside of us might just be the very ingredients we need to spur us onward by awakening our compassion and thus moving us closer to enlightenment. It is possible for each of us through our various contemplative practices to blossom further to becoming beautiful beings that can somehow be helpful to those around us. We have that capacity, and I believe that innate drive.

When yucky, mucky things happen to us, we have a tendency to want to run away. Fortunately seated meditation is a tool we can use to hold the mucky energy and transform it into something beautiful.

Earlier this month, the Hōkūleʻa, a canoe from my native Hawaii, arrived in New York Harbor. It's been over 2 years since it left Hawaii and the crews have paddled it across the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans being guided simply by the stars, wind, currents, birds and other navigational tools provided by nature. The have created bridges with First Nations People all around the world. The voyage's mission is Mālama Honua or "caring for our Island Earth." As yoga practitioners, the reminder for us is that we are all interconnected and it is our collective responsibility to care for Mother Earth. Harm done in one part of the world is felt globally.

Hōkūleʻa docked in Lower Manhattan, June 5, 2016

My wishes for the planet right now are:
May we all cultivate more love and kindness within ourselves.
May we all remember that we are interconnected.
May we shift from every man, ethnicity for himself to every individual for the collective.
May we all stay connected to the muck of the world, and transform it into something beautiful. 

With Aloha and Metta,
Paul